curated: comic books, now more than ever

All these Captain America memes just depress me, because in the current comics—in one of Marvel’s most dispiriting ideas of all time—Steve Rogers has turned out to be a covert Hydra agent. It’s really unfortunate, because if I ever needed a super-hero to inspire me, this is the time.

She made me realize that there were other girls like me who did not let boys boss them around. Girls who could take care of themselves. It made me feel not alone. Wonder Woman was my hero, my role model, and she empowered me. Not because she was beautiful and scantily clad, but because of who she was on the inside. She made me want to be like her — to care for people, to do good, and to take care of myself. … All of these protesters are doing exactly the opposite of what they claim to believe. They are judging a woman for her looks and not for herself. That doesn’t make you an advocate for women. That makes you an uninformed jerk.

I came to meet thousands of Wonder Woman fans all over the world. They had tattoos, they cosplayed, they loved her more than their own families in some cases. And over and over, I kept hearing about how this character, this fictional character who was often sidelined and downplayed, kept people alive. Kept them from committing suicide, helped them through a trauma, helped them come out as LGBTQ, helped them get out of abusive situations, helped them take care of themselves, or, in my case, helped me realize how important stories could be. I have been to countries where they don’t speak English and I don’t speak the language, and readers still come up and hug me in tears, because they know I wrote Wonder Woman. I think about the people I met, one woman who became a legitimate astronaut, an actual astronaut, because of Diana. I mean, there’s something going on here far, far beyond, “I like this character.”

The purpose of this initiative was so incredibly positive, with the best of intentions, knowing how perfectly Diana, an immigrant, a pacifist and protector of all, fit this role. In the comics she’s held an ambassadorial role for decades, her love and compassion a universal comfort. Like Steinem, I discovered Wonder Woman early in life, the first fictional character to make a significant impact on me, something that has remained throughout my life. Wonder Woman has empowered me since I was four. I can only imagine, now, what she could have done for other girls wanting a hero.